This terrible loss has been reported by a team from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), who noticed the vanishing of this colony – which makes up five to nine per cent of the world’s emperor penguin population – using satellite pictures

The sea-ice that’s formed since 2016 hasn’t been as strong. Storm events that occur in October and November will now blow it out early.

So there’s been some sort of regime change. Sea-ice that was previously stable and reliable is now just untenable.

Dr Phil Trathan, also from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), told the BBC:

What’s interesting for me is not that colonies move or that we can have major breeding failures – we know that. It’s that we are talking here about the deep embayment of the Weddell Sea, which is potentially one of the climate change refugia for those cold-adapted species like emperor penguins.

And so if we see major disturbances in these refugia – where we haven’t previously seen changes in 60 years – that’s an important signal.

It is though many adult emperor penguins have either avoided breeding in 2017 and 2018, or flocked to new breeding sites across the Weddell Sea.

A significant rise in numbers has reportedly been observed at a colony some 50km away from Halley Bay, near the Dawson-Lambton Glacier.

Get link

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Other Apps

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Every year, in the coastal areas of the Danish islands of Faroe, thousands of dolphins are slaughtered by teenagers who celebrate that they have reached adulthood in this cruel way.The ceremony takes place in the spring when the pilot dolphins approach the coasts, and the whole village prepares for the "big day". This act, which takes place outdoors and in full view of everyone, becomes a party that leaves the waters dyed red, bathed in blood.It is a tradition of more than 1,200 years in which between 1,000 and 2,500 dolphins are killed. Young people take advantage of the confidence that pilot whales have towards people to celebrate their initiation into adulthood, although it could be questioned that killing animals in cold blood is an adult.The reason why nobody does anything there to stop this massacre is that before agriculture played a very important role in the islands, but nowadays fishing, the fishing industry and the export of fish are the most important commercial …

Nowadays, the plastic pollution is one
of the biggest environmental burdens.

Statistics say that annually, we throw
away enough plastic to circle the globe 4 times. Also, it has been shown that
50% of the plastic is thrown after the first use.

Newest studies suggest that the
consumption of water and food in plastic bottles and packages is extremely
detrimental to health, as plastic contains various harmful chemicals that leech
in the water or food, and are thus entered in the human body.

One of the most harmful compounds in
plastic is bisphenol A or BPA. The exposure to this toxin during pregnancy has
been found to lead to low birth weight in newborn children.

This chemical has been initially used
in the process of manufacturing of everyday plastics like helmets, food
containers, goggles, paper receipts, and the coating of metal tins and cans for
food. Due to all this, apparently, all people contain it at some level in the
blood.

The largest river island in the world, Majuli, may disappear. Over the last 70 years, Majuli has shrunk by more than half and there are concerns it will be submerged in the next 20 years. The island is under constant threat due to the extensive soil erosion on its banks. The reason for this is thought to be the large embankments built in towns up the Brahmaputra river to protect them during the monsoon season which redirect the devastating fury of the river to the islet. Since 1991, over 35 villages have been washed away. And while Indian authorities are trying to figure out how to save the island, its life may have even been shorter if it wasn’t for one local environmental activist. In 1979, Jadav Payeng, then 16, encountered a large number of snakes that had died due to excessive heat after floods washed them onto the tree-less sandbar. Then and there, Jadav made it his life’s mission to save Majuli from erosion by planting trees. Working tirelessly every day, he has planted 550 hect…